The Nkoranza South Municipal Assembly has conducted a two-day training programme for various stakeholders on the Integrated Social Service (ISS) programme and the Inter-Sectoral Standard Operating Procedures (ISSOP).
The Municipal Coordinating Director and Chairman of the Integrated Social Service programme working group, Mr. WORLANYO ALATEVI commend participants for their commitment towards social service delivery in the Municipality. He further called on all actors to effectively collaborate with other departments, agencies and organizations in the performance of their duties to help reduce poverty and vulnerabilities in the Municipality.
The Municipal Head of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development, Mr. Emmanuel Bukari in his presentation indicated the Integrated Social Service Programme seeks to strengthen inter-sectoral collaboration among stakeholders namely: the Municipal Assembly, Civil Society, NHIA, religious Authorities, security agencies, the media, health institutions, traditional authorities and local government actors in the provision of social services at the decentralized and national levels to improve social services delivery across the country.
He indicated that the goal of the ISS programme was to reduce poverty and vulnerability of children and families through increased access to an integrated set of social services.
Mr. Bukari said the objective of the initiative is to support local government authorities to implement the policy objectives of the National Medium Term Development Planning Framework related to child and family welfare and social protection, strengthen capacity, coordination and systems at the local and national levels to enable sustainable delivery of integrated services with focus on child protection, social protection and health services whiles supporting metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to access funding related to social and child protection programmes.
He took stakeholders through gaps in existing child protection case management guidelines and their attendant problems adding that the ISSOPs provide a harmonized framework of agreed standards, principles and procedures for all stakeholders to understand each other’s role and responsibilities.
The meeting also discussed the legal framework and policies on child protection, case categorization, roles of stakeholders under the new guidelines, levels of risks and vulnerability faced by children and the expected timelines for response as well as pathways for reporting child welfare issues, response and referrals.
Stakeholders drawn from the Ghana Health Service, The Ghana Education Service, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the National Commission For Civic Education, the Municipal Assembly, the National Health Insurance Authority, traditional authorities and the media shared ideas on how they can collaborate to attain the goals of the ISS and child protection in the municipality.
Participants were also taken through reporting pathways on various child protection concerns and SWCE (0800800800/0800900900) and the Municipality vulnerability hotline (0247833324).
